The New Weapon Arrives: Reaper
Nova wakes to Mr. Akira whooping early in the morning. She rubs the sleep from her eyes as she ascends the stairs still in her pajamas. She is greeted by the excited blacksmith and instantly yanked outside. He shoves a giant black box in her hands. Nova looks at him, knowing its contents and then throws the lid off. Inside lies a pure white scythe. It's huge with intricate decals along its staff and a skull carved atop it. The blade itself is monstrous. With delicate movements Nova lifts her new weapon from its container. As soon as it makes contact with her skin, there's an explosion of light and a gust of wind tears at the surroundings. Nova now stands in a small crater with her scythe wrapped tightly in her left hand. "It's absolutely... indescribable. Thank you so much Mr. Akira." "It's my best work by far. What's it's name?" She closes her eyes and repeats the question in her mind. There's a faint whisper and the weapon tells her the name: "Reaper." Nova says. She looks happier than a child on Christmas. "Mr. Akira, would you mind if I maybe went to-" "Please do." So with that Nova takes off for the guild, hoping to test out her new scythe. ''"Should I tell her she's still got her night clothes on?" ''Mr. Akira thinks to himself. ----------------------------------- (At the Guild) Nova rushes into the guild and scans the people inside for two in particular. Once she spots them she snatches them both and eagerly pulls them outside. Arthur and Aiden both give her a strange look. "I want to test out a new weapon. Will you two help?" "Sure but Nova do you really want to spar in your PJ's? " Aiden chuckles. Nova's face is as red as her hair as she quickly requips into loose pants and a cropped tank top. She chose that clothing to give her freer movement. Her feet are bare per usual and a light flashes as she equips Reaper. "There. Now I can fight." she says. The boys are shocked at the size of the weapon but know that she's inexperienced in its use. Aiden quickly assumes a fighting stance while Arthur pulls out four of his keys. He first summons Scutum and uses his Astral Embodiment ability. The next two are Gladius and Zaha with Lola being summoned last in case of injury. Nova places one hand on her stomach and uses the other to swing the scythe in an X. She speeds it up and eventually starts to spin it between both hands. Once she's comfortable with the size of the weapon she signals for the boys to begin. Zaha charges first and Nova whips Reaper's blade up to block. He comes back, this time with Gladius. Nova spins the scythe on the heel of her palm, using friction to keep it in place, and both their blades smack against it. She quickly wraps her right hand around the staff and swings but is deflected by Arthur's Shield Charm. This continues in the same fashion and Nova momentarily forgets Aiden is behind her. Aiden attempts to hit Nova but she senses his presence at the last second and leans backwards. He would have hit the scythe had it not changed form. Nova grips the dual chain scythe, one mini Reaper in each hand. She quickly wraps the chain around Aiden's wrist and uses his momentum to send him flying. The scythe the returns to the singular form and Nova continues against the spirits. Keeping the scythe behind her, she sprints but doesn't swing at the spirits themselves. Instead she drops low, under their arms, and manages to get Zaha's weapons out of his hands by hooking the blade around them, spinning, and driving her and her weapon's force away. They fly of in the opposite direction of Aiden. As one spirit goes to retrieve his weapons, the other begins the sparring again. They end up in a deadlock until Nova brings back a dirty trick from her fight with Samarra during the guild war. She whips her elbow into Gladius's throat, not hard enough to cause serious damage but enough to drive him back and leave him with uneven footing. The female quickly drops down again and takes out his knees with her shin. He lands on his backside and Nova returns upright, placing the butt of Reaper's staff against his chest. He holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "That was a dirty move Nova." Arthur calls. "Sorry! I just got carried away!" she replies, looking like a scolded puppy. That was true though. Nova hadn't had a fight like that in a long time. Her eyes shone and her chest rose and fell rapidly with the exertion she felt from the fight. She helped Gladius up while thanking both him and Zaha for the match. Aiden came jogging back just as Arthur was leaving. He looked slightly... well ruffled and wet. "Nova, could you maybe not have sent my flying at your dog? He had me pinned down and wouldn't let me up until he had thoroughly licked me." "So that means you're covered in-" "Slobber? Yes." Aiden says, clearly not thrilled. "Ready for round two?" "Bring it." she challenges with a grin. The male quickly rushes her and she jumps over him. Nova's plan to push of his back is interrupted when he grabs her wrist and brings her back in front of him. She digs her feet in and slides to a stop. She raises her eyebrows at him and he grins wickedly. Shrugging, she runs at him this time and there's a brilliant flash as she unequips Reaper. Aiden hadn't been expecting that so she takes the opportunity to drive her elbow into his gut then balance on one hand and lift her lower body to kick him in the chest. She requips the scythe in an instant and uses the flat of the blade to stop his punch. The force of his crash magic causes the gem to vibrate and a ringing sound fills the surrounding area but the weapon is barely scratched. "If you break this I will break you. You can test the limits but any sign of cracking, you stop and I'll put it away." Aiden rolls his eyes but agrees to Nova's terms. They go at it for a few hours until Nova begins to feel the strain of having the weapon out for so long. Not wanting to push her new scythe too far, she unequips it and beckons for Aiden to continue with hand to hand. There fists collide and the force causes the ground to crack slightly. When Nova swings her other fist around, Aiden catches it and also stops the foot she brings up at the same time. She headbutts him and he steps back grumbling. "You're gonna lose brain cells doing that." "Don't worry. I have plenty to spare." Nova says. She takes the offensive again and gets in a few punches before Aiden kicks her side. "Tch. That's going to bruise you butt head!" "Butt head? Really?" "Fight me about it." "Okay then, I will." he replies. Aiden kicks high, aiming for head level, but Nova uses her height to her advantage and leans back. She grabs the back of his knee and flips him over her. He rolls into the landing and comes up into a crouching position. Their match isn't going to end for awhile. (Later, inside the guild) "Where's Nova?" Zero asks Scorpius. The water mage points in the vague direction of the door. "And Aiden?" Once again Scorpius points outside. "Still?!" He nods. "They've been at it for hours... Neither one wants to admit defeat." "Oh God. Trying to get Nova to admit defeat is-" "Impossible." The two say together. There's a sudden victorious holler from outside. (Outside) Nova sits on top of Aiden's back, effectively pinning him to the ground. The Crash mage tries to lift Nova up but she bops him on the head. "Get off of me, Shorty!" he yells. "What was that?" "I said move your butt, Small Fry." Nova whacks him on the head again and if they weren't so tired they probably would have gone another round.